Declare campaign contributors

Atascadero

On Aug. 12, the Atascadero City Council will consider requiring greater transparency and accountability from its members regarding campaign contributions, by posting them on the Internet and declaring them when contributors’ items are on the council agenda.

Currently, contribution forms are accessible only at City Hall. Exploiting a loophole in state law (which excludes city councils from its definition of “agency”), council members may deliberate and vote on agenda items in which their campaign contributors have a financial interest, without divulging those contributions for the record.

It’s time to provide the citizens of Atascadero with access to campaign contribution reports on the city’s Web site. It’s also time to provide those assembled at council meetings with on-the-record declarations of campaign contributions to council members from applicants and appellants with items on the agenda.

All council members and top city staff have received a comprehensive brief advocating these advancements in transparency and accountability, and citing the city’s authority to enact them. Citizens in favor of these initiatives are encouraged to support them at the Aug. 12 City Council meeting.